Minister calls for free blood test on drunken drivers

Ndola, February 25, ZANIS ——-CopperbeltProvince Minister Mwenya Musenge has directed all hospitals in the province to give free blood tests on all persons intoxicated with alcohol in order for the police to come up with strong cases on offenders.

Mr Musenge gave the directive at a press briefing in Ndola yesterday after the police could not take blood tests to determine alcohol content of two men because the police were supposed to pay at the hospital for the exercise to be carried out.

The Copperbelt minister has since called for stiffer punishment on reckless drivers saying the KR270 charge given to those found wanting was too minimal.

He said according to the Road Traffic Act those found intoxicated were to be fined, imprisoned or both but pointed out that offenders should be imprisoned to deter others from committing such offences.

Mr Musenge said government would not tolerate reckless as it was barely three weeks when over 50 people had died in a road traffic accident.

Mr Musenge has since urged the police to find a way of withdrawing driving licences to reckless drivers if road carnage was to reduce.

The Minister explained that on Sunday around 17:00 hours, Chapuswike Mukobe an employee of Worker’s Compensation Fund and Emmanuel Sichula a worker at Wood Processing Company almost caused a head on collision with two separate trucks.

Mr Musenge said upon noticing that the car was not being driven well, he stopped Mukobe and Sichula whose car had bottles of alcohol and that the driver could not stand when he came out of the car as he was drunk.

He said Sichula started insulting the minister for being stopped until police were called and detained the two at Ndola central police.

Sichula and Mukobe pleaded for forgiveness from the minister during the press briefing but Mr Musenge said that the duo should be examples to would be offenders.